Editing Trial by combat (section)

{{short description|Method of settling accusations within Germanic law by dueling}}
{{For|the 1976 film|Trial by Combat}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
[[File:Gerichtskampf mair.jpg|thumb|300px|A 1540s depiction of a judicial combat in Augsburg in 1409, between Marshal Wilhelm von Dornsberg and Theodor Haschenacker. Dornsberg's sword broke early in the duel, but he proceeded to kill Haschenacker with his own sword.]]

'''Trial by combat''' (also '''wager of battle''', '''trial by battle''' or '''judicial duel''') was a method of [[Germanic law]] to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in [[single combat]]; the winner of the fight was [[might makes right|proclaimed to be right]].  In essence, it was a judicially sanctioned [[duel]].  It remained in use throughout the European [[Middle Ages]], gradually disappearing in the course of the 16th century.